Code Geass: Suzaku of Australia
by Tamer Who Leapt Through Time
Summary: Year, 2018 a.t.b (1963 AD in a gentler world). The 100th Empress of Britannia, Nunnally vi Britannia has been assassinated. Lelouch's work has been undone, for Nunnally is dead. The world is about to be divided again, with Zero's true identity identity compromised. Meanwhile, Mann Co. of Australia seeks the aid of chronic traitor Suzaku to maximize profit. Possible Suzaku x Harem.
1. Turn 1: Bloody Prologue, Part 1

**Code Geass: Suzaku of Australia: **

**Turn 1: Bloody Prologue Part 1**

****_Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass. If I did, Lelouch would have a lot of pussy. _

In a dingy, cluttered, foetid, parody of a lounge with a grungy unwashed fellow stretched on a chaise-longue (his chin begging for the embrace of a sweet razor) a television's flickers filled the room, spastically coating moth-bitten sofas and a rickety coffee table (which bore an heirloom gilded in a dazzling golden alloy, a small bottle of Victoria Bitter and a jar containing a certain substance). This was the home, or rather the bachelor's pad, of Richard "Dick" Mundy, whose reposing form was twitching into wakefulness, groggy, hung-over, bloodshot irises intermittently breaking through the depths of sleep, the green, olive ceiling floating between his two eyes. The peppy, rousing voice of Milly Ashford had awoken him.

'_Why do I even pay for Britannian satellite news? It's pure, arrogant, inbred Pom promotional bullshit!'_ the Australian 'thought', twitching gradually upright to his couch. Of course, the 'thought' was to be expected from a hard hangover.

'_I need a refresher.'_ In the dim light of the shack, Dick reached for the Bitter, hoping the worst case scenario would not come.

On the screen, Ashford's chatter continued, "_Her Imperial Majesty, Nunnally vi Britannia, has…"_

'_Why do Britannians have to have such hammy names? Oh, wait…' _Dick brought the bottle (at least he hoped it was the bottle…)

"…_negotiations to grant…"_

'_Independence? Well, I hope them the very best, it gets annoying when you get your money get stolen by occupying…'_ Just as the 'bottle' of Victoria Bitter reached his lips Dick's train of thought was then interrupted by gunfire; automatic, repeating gunfire, accompanied by the frantic, hysterical screams of Milly Ashford interweaved with commentary. The screen of the television flashed with every burst, becoming redder every interval between, although Dick hardly would've noticed in his delirious state, accompanying the fact that he was conditioned to drinking while hearing wails and screeches of head-shotted torment. Screams of pain, horror and fear permeated Dick's room, alongside the flashing and banging (with possibly the sound of cracking ceramic or plastic seasoning it all, oddly enough).

Suddenly, Dick spat out the Bitter, or rather, jarate he had swallowed into his mouth. His teeth would need a dentist soon.

Incidentally, he noticed that on the screen, there were smashed purple shards on red carpet and bloody, freshly killed corpses of suited men (armed and unarmed) and a beautiful, honey-haired lady, donned in pink-purple, all strewn on the carpet.

Seized into sobriety by the sight, Dick started to fully comprehend the situation, his eyes widening from alcohol-fortified sleep. Nunnally vi Britannia, the 100th Empress of Britannia was assassinated, on live international television, along with Ougi Kaname and Schneizel el Britannia.

A single profane word was uttered by Dick, whose jaws were slack and dripping with his own urine. The sound of a loading sniper rifle could be heard, muffled by creaking fans in the room.

* * *

_A/N: This fanfic is set just after Zero Requiem, at the end of episode 25 of R2. Please read and review. My chapters will be short; I do not like walls of text._


	2. Turn 1: Bloody Prologue, Part 2

**Code Geass: Suzaku of Australia: **

**Turn 1: Bloody Prologue Part 2**

****_Disclaimer: Hurr durr copyright owned by sunrise, not fat fanfiction writer from Australia.  
_

The first thing the masked Suzaku knew as Ougi Kaname's hand wrapped that's of Nunnally's was the stabbing sound of all-too-familiar gunfire hitting fabric, flesh and metal alike coming from in front of him. Blinding chaos ricocheted through the airstrip, plunging into bodies with the sound of hatred, hatred that should've died with Lelouch. Alas, that hatred was still alive today, alive in the form of whistling bullets and crunching bodies.

Bodies fell one-by-one and Suzaku could hear Schneizel's agonized scream of pain. Before him, however, was the more visible image of lead plunging straight through Ougi and through Nunnally.

Suzaku then yelled _**"NO ONE HURTS NUNNALLY!"**_ – It would a large mistake in hindsight.

Sighting the gunman, Suzaku charged towards him, only to be defeated by the cruelty that was aimed lead. Suzaku collapsed to the ground, his hand outstretched to the feet of the shooter.

"_**LIVE!"**_ – That one command rushed through Suzaku's nerves as in pure instinct, he savagely mauled the assassin's shin, who, appropriately, screeched and flailed, dropping his assault rifle, with an attached bayonet. Ignoring his exsanguinating state, Suzaku seized the rifle, jerking it overhead, with both hands by the butt, as his booted foot connected with the assailant's stomach and then hammered the cold steel through the killer.

The murderer's lasts words, though uttered softly, were unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

"Death to Suzaku Kururugi…" It was as this damnation was uttered, that Zero's mask cracked and fell in two, for all the world to see. A moment in his life returned.

* * *

"_You will no longer live your life as Suzaku Kururugi. You shall sacrifice the ordinary pleasures of your life for the benefit of the world… for eternity." Lelouch uttered as blood covered Zero's mask._

"_This Geass… I do solemnly accept." Eyes, tearing, Suzaku mumbled._

It finally dawned upon Suzaku that eternity did not necessarily last forever, as his consciousness faded and he collapsed on the assassin's bloody corpse.


	3. Turn 2: Nunnally is Dead

**Code Geass: Suzaku of Australia: **

**Turn 2: Nunnally is Dead**

_If I own __Code Geass, then Hitler was a communist._

* * *

_Footnotes are marked by Roman numerals. Sorry for any inconvenience._

* * *

In a plain, inconspicuous cottage in the equally plain and inconspicuous town of Picton in the year of 1964 A.D(i) , New South Wales, Australia, there was much anger and furore.

"Fuck this shit!" The burly arms of Saxton Hale, CEO-in-hiding of the arms manufacturing company Mann Co., were flailing maniacally in anger as a recording of the assassination of Nunnally vi Britannia played out before his very puffed and red eyes. Repeatedly and continuously, the sight of an assassin delivering gunfire onto Britannian and Japanese officials showed itself on the flat-screen. With every repetition, Saxton felt himself dying inside a little bit.

With a roar rivalling that of King Kong's, Saxton screeched, "First my company and now my chance of recovering it from this geopolitical shitfest!" Today was the day he planned on making Mann Co. resurge. It conveniently also was the day global stability would be kicked in the ass once again.

After the world domination of the populist, anti-corporation Lelouch vi Britannia with the threat of F.L.E.I.J.A (which Australia(ii) itself found no refuge or exception from, despite being neutral through all the Britannian Wars), Saxton Hale had found himself being stripped of his assets and holdings, which were ruthlessly nationalised, along with his safety (Emperor Ledouche making it very clear he was going to kill big businessmen and arms manufacturers, which Saxton happened to be both), prompting his exile into this semi-remote rural hovel. Billions upon billions of carefully managed dollars and entire vaults of "gold" (which wasn't actually gold(iii), Saxton Hale being the ingenious and shrewd man he was with words) were confiscated from him in a fraction of a second. Though Saxton knew that it was possible for him to retrieve those assets now that Australia was once again independent (after the uncharacteristically short Britannian occupation, "short" implying Britannians have ever willingly let colonies secede before Nunnally), he also had a recognition of the fact that the world power vacuum created in a situation wherein he could retrieve them (i.e. the death of Nunnally vi Britannia, who, due to her "peace and prosperity" rhetoric, brought no peace and prosperity to Saxton himself) would make it difficult for him to continue making a profit to return to the top. In short, for the first time since the failed American Revolution, Mann Co. found itself in mortal danger; this time around, there was no island to escape to, as the threat was not so much of politics as it were of finance.

Forehead in his right palm, Saxton sighed with pure exasperation, his hand purpling in reaction to his breath. In fact, he himself thought that if it weren't for his utter manliness (no pun intended) that the breath would've given his hand gangrene.

"_In other news, the man behind the mask of Zero has allegedly been identified."_

"Zero?" Saxton's ear's twitched at this, his head tilting away from his palm until it met his chin, his eyes meeting the television.

The shaken, though still spritely voice of Milly Ashford (whose clothing was splattered with specks of blood, indicating that the assassin's weapon was powerful enough to distribute gore over a distance), who was standing before a scene of body bags and paramedics, continued on, saying something that would both excite and calm Saxton:

"_Reportedly, according to Deputy Prime Minister of Britannia Kanon Maldini, now acting Prime Minister due to the apparent death of His Highness Schneizel el Britannia, the individual in the guise of Zero is Suzaku Kururugi…"_

At that point, Saxton mind began to focus on 'Suzaku Kururugi' and nothing else, even the fact that he was supposed to be dead, which he thoroughly disregarded, for faking death was not uncommon when it came to the military. In the world of arms manufacturing, the names of the best operators of a type of weapon spread like bushfires (which coincidentally, were at the present raging south of Picton, despite the season's being winter). Even though Saxton had never met the Britannian (or Japanese, or honorary Britannian, it was hard to assign a definite identity to such an ambiguous individual), he still knew a lot about him. He was, arguably, one of the best mecha(iv) (or as the title-obsessed Britannians liked to dub them, _Knightmares_, an awful pun) pilots known to mankind. On that fateful day of Pendragon's annihilation by a nuclear weapon, he saw that clip of the Knight of Zero killing three other Knights of the Round. According to rumours by Saxton's colleagues, the chronic backstabber was blessed with a divine gift, which could've been plausible from the freak events in the recent months (such as semi-sentient penguins in the Britannian sector of Antarctica or those freak simultaneous earthquakes from places ranging from London to Kandahar(v)).

"…_responsible for the deaths of at least 25 million individuals in the Britannian Tokyo settlement."_

At that statement, Saxton's lips twisted into a frown. He did not care about lives or the fact that Suzaku took them that much, what annoyed him was the fact that he was reminded of the name of the person who ruined an investment his; hundreds of extremely profitable Pizza Hut franchises, brothels and gambling dens which he had significant shares in were evaporated by pink light within mere minutes. Moreover, the fact that Suzaku aided Lelouch's seizing of the Imperial Throne (usurpation would be too strong a word, but there certainly was something odd about the latter's televised ascension, which in Saxton's eyes, had something to do with the equally odd occurrences of the 1950s and 1960s) mean that he was indirectly liable for the gigantic losses in revenue by Australian tax avoidance banks from the money runs of Britannian nobles after they had acknowledged Lelouch.

"…_currently under questioning for his involvement with Lelouch,"_ Milly faltered in uttering the hated emperor's name _"and his relationship with the Black Knights."_

To Saxton, the Black Knights were truly a wild card. After their debut at Kawaguchi, the sale of sub-machine guns and other infantry weapons had increased. On the other hand, Britannian demand for infantry weapons decreased as mecha weapon (which Mann Co. did not produce on the same scale as small arms) demand increased, leading to an overall decline of Mann Co.'s influence in the Americas. The drug war in French Guyana (or as the Britannians called it, Upper Area 6) was a huge boon for Mann Co., having racked in billions of dollars. With Britannian attention shifted to the Orient with the rise of the Black Knights, that export market had drastically shrunk. Saxton missed the old patronage of the Cardemondes(vi) – though he had no use for cocaine (which he accepted as payment from them), he found that it was useful for his mercenaries, one of which who, co-incidentally had just died from a recreational, non-work related overdose after a wild and debauched party in the Britannian ghetto of Boston.

"…_could be sentenced to life imprisonment if found guilty…"_

Talking about mercenaries, he'd be needing some to get rid of his competition. Who could be a better substitute mercenary for that intolerable, overly talkative (to the point of insanity), and very dead, crack-sniffing half-pint from Boston than a F.L.E.I.J.A throwing, massacre-princess-loving, patricidal (yes, Saxton knew that little-known truth from this corporate associates in the now-defunct N.A.C, known operating as the Kyoto House), suicidal _**nip**_(vii)? Nothing, except for another Bostonian ghetto boy, except now ghettos within Mainland Britannia are decreasing by the thousands. Besides, the little rat owed him a lot for sabotaging that potentially bountiful arms deal with the Imperial Japanese Army eight years ago.

Standing up from his chair, Saxton reached for the phone and contacted his most reliable employee, Richard "Dick" Mundy.

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan – 7 hours earlier_

In a certain bar, Viletta was experiencing a new form of sorrow hitherto unknown to her. Surrounded by her comrades, formerly enemies, weeping on the floor, she was trying to come to terms with the death of her husband.

For the umpteenth time in her life, she realised that attempts did not always bear success.

* * *

_Cobar, Australia_

In the Dead Redcoat pub, there was a scene of, shrill cheering, riotous laughter, cackling and inebriety as a parody of Britannia's anthem was being played in a somewhat morbid and definitely cruel (seeing as she wasn't anywhere near Lelouch or Charles in hideous behaviour) celebration of the news of Nunnally vi Britannia's death.

_Refrain and dope in our Fatherland!_  
_And death to every Joe!_  
_Our soldiers are not the best, cos_  
_Australian artillery!_

_Rape, steal, murder, conquer, divide_  
_"Arise" young heroes!_  
_Into Number women, our seed_  
_All Hail Britannia!_

_Mortal bacon shows the way_  
_Step forth and seek glory!_  
_Hoist your "swords" high into the clouds_  
_Hail Britannia!_

_Our Emperor stands astride this world_  
_Greatest girth, ho ho ho!_  
_His "truth" and "justice" shine so bright_  
_All hail his brilliant "light"!_

_Never will he be overthrown_  
_That's for you and me_  
_His bloodline immortal and pure (though his is one that raped Indians)_  
_All Hail Britannia!_

_So let his lube tube guide our way_  
_Go forth and seek glory_  
_Hoist your "swords" high into the clouds_  
_Hail Britannia!_

After the anthem parody was finished, a comedian came onto the rickety makeshift picnic table stage and said,

"How many hordes are there in a Britannian platoon?"

"100!" There were a couple of jeers

"12!" Cries of 'what' filled the room.

"Potato!" Lights howls of mirth popped up.

"11!" At this, the mob burst into an intense laughter unheard of in 99 years since the creation of the pub, which marked the 50th anniversary of the mass starvation, deaths through heatstroke, attacks by spiders and snakes and rodents' ration theft of Britannian colonial troops in 1812 A.D. after being pursued into the vicinity of the pub, then a unpopulated death-land, by a ragtag coalition of extremely disgruntled Aborigines, free settlers, emancipated convicts, American Patriot refugees fleeing from Mexico (their former refuge before the Britannian campaign in the Americas) and their emancipated slaves (who were freed due to threats by free and convict farmers to starve the masters to death otherwise). Regardless of the reasons, Richard "Dick" Mundy, as he had the whole time, refrained from joining the revelry, instead opting to continue interviewing someone who seemed to be a viable candidate for the tentative 1st Mann Co. Special Operations Section.

Facing his right was the candidate known simply to him as the 'Hot Chick' as she (or he, their face was rather androgynous), who, inappropriately named as she/he were, with her/his pruned grandma face, ranted on about the fondness she/he had for fire.

"So, you see, I decide to beautify the pasture a little bit with my friend." She indicated to Dick an insecticide container with an odd-looking mechanism attached to the hose.

Shocked and suspicious, Dick went, "Wait. You were the one who set Coward's sheep on fire, right?"

"That's right, I _beautified_ it," she/he insisted, "went and made a whole hectare's worth of mutton and lamb."

Snorting in disgust, Dick spelled out to the lady/gentleman, "We don't hire vandals, sorry."

In response to the accusation of vandalism, the 'Hot Chick' seized Dick's neck with her/his elbow, her/his chest touching Dick's head.

"I'll roast you a new one if you don't give me the position"

Dick was sweating in fear right now. However, the 'Hot Chick' being the crazed madwoman/madman she/he was, she/he did not take care to put away Dick's M712. Disregarding the homemade flamethrower pressed against his left cheek, Dick jerked with all his strength to his right, seized his machine pistol, flicked the safety off, selected the fully automatic mode and made an uncooked meat pie of the 'Hot Chick', the noise of gunfire, drawing the steadfast attention of everyone in the pub, who quickly drew their own pistols and aimed them at Dick(viii).

Slowly placing his M712 onto the chair and raising his arms in surrender, Dick whispered to the bartender, who was pointing a loaded fully automatic Saiga 12(ix) at the space between his eyes,

"She threatened to set me on fire with that," Dick motioning towards the insecticide container "if I didn't give her a job."

Nodding slowly in acknowledgment, the bartender called at the pub customers to holster their guns, lowering his own after informing them of Dick's situation.

"Sorry for the mess." Dick hushed to the bartender.

"Nothing at all. Personally, I was hoping someone would kill it." The bartender then proceeded to give Dick a pint of beer. "That's for the pest control, for free at that."

"Thanks." Dick uttered in relief and gratitude.

After a few minutes of less banter due to the recent incident, the liveliness of the bar returned. Looking at his watch, Dick saw that the time was 7:02 pm. 10 hours at a bar was quite the record.

"Well, time to go. See you bartender."

"See ya, Dick!"

Having gone outside, Dick realised how horrible and unprofessional a joke that just could've been.

"See ya Dick, huh."

Suddenly, his mobile phone rang. At this hour, only one person would call him. He picked up the phone.

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan – 7 hours earlier_

Today would be Kallen's first day back at Ashford Academy after a long hiatus. The redhead was hoping it would be ideal, but the sight of the devastation that F.L.E.I.J.A caused stuck a chord within her.

It was true that, before, as a Black Knight, that she had seen the devastation caused by F.L.E.I.J.A; it had eaten away the front gate; she would be re-entering Ashford from a different path, despite the fact that reconstruction of the vicinity was almost complete. Perhaps, this metaphor was planned by Lelouch himself.

Running down the footpath, she finally caught sight of Ashford Academy. Nostalgia struck her heart.

As she entered the academy, she was struck by an inappropriately melancholic sight; the sight of mourning. The Japanese flag (which had replaced the Britannian one soon after Lelouch's death) was at half-mast and most of the students on campus had their head bowed. As she made her way to the clubhouse, several heads perked up at her, as if she were out of site.

By the time she was on the club house's porch, she asked a glazed-eyed Rivalz Cardemonde what all the long faces were about.

In a grim matter-of-fact statement, Rivalz said, "Nunnally is dead."

Kallen thought she had skipped a heartbeat.

* * *

_Barrier Highway, Australia – 7 hours earlier_

On the side of the highway, in a broken minivan, two men were bickering.

"This is fucking bullshit, Tom!" A much wrinkled old man who was tired of life swore.

"We'll have to deal with it, Ben. Your inability to die is the price for betrayal, alongside your state of having to watching every person you could possibly give a damn about perish." A more youthful looking man (only in comparison the former one, looking as if he were in his 60s) replied to the tirade, annoyed by his acquaintance's foul mouth.

"Even then, I still don't know George had to curse me like this!"

"Because you chose to be blessed?" Tom remarked sardonically.

"You call living in a one-half century old body blessed?"

"You asked him to Geass you into gaining your full potential. He did just that, but you had to use your intelligence to betray him for titles that would not even last, especially here in Australia, Earl Franklin."

"Whatever."

"_Breaking news – Nunnally vi Britannia has been assassinated."_ The radio sparked to life from its unwarranted repose.

"The cycle goddamn keeps repeating! Ambition, assassination, ambition, usurpation of throne…"

"Ben, a word of advice – you will only die when the United States of America is formed."

Tilting his head in a strange mix of frustration and hatred, Benjamin Franklin replied, "Instructions on how to die coming from an immortal."

"Yes, now shut up or I'll abandon you in this path to Hell. Don't get jealous of the fact I have a Code."

"Say, Thomas, have you noticed that over the span of a century and a half, our intricate vocabularies have declined into a shambles consisting of profanity and slurs?"

"Yeah, shut the fuck up." Thomas Jefferson rolled his eyes in frustration at his eternal compatriot's inanity. The car engine found itself reviving, as if in response to his audacity.

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

In his holding cell, restrained by a straitjacket, Suzaku could only stare vacantly at the outside of the cell. He had failed as Zero.

He only wanted freedom, not a specific freedom, just freedom. Maybe he was just so… exhausted from lying.

Geass is a wish, and his Geass would be granted.

* * *

_Cobar, Australia_

"Mission accepted."

Dick had a realisation – rescuing the world most despised killer was going to prove interesting.

* * *

_Middle of nowhere_

"_Empress Nunnally is dead."_

Those words burnt their way into Lelouch's mind. At that instant, Lelouch broke, collapsing onto the table.

C.C. thought that their little piece of paradise wasn't remote enough.

* * *

_Office of the Britannian Deputy Prime Minister_

Fingers clasped, Kanon Maldini uttered, "Just as planned."

He would avenge Schneizel.

* * *

A/Ns

i In my portrayal of Code Geass' Australia, Australia uses the A.D. rather than the a.t.b calendar and 1 a.t.b corresponds to 55 B.C

ii It's true. In the last episode, every territory on the map, including Australia, was shaded the same colour, indicating take-over.

iii I.e. Australium.

iv In my fanon, this is the generic Australian term for anything resembling knightmares.

v Ragnarok.

vi Not canon, but my fanon

vii In my fanon version of Australia, seemingly derogatory terms are used with less weight due to fanon historical factors and are the Australian equivalent to Britannia's Number slurs.

viii In my portrayal of Code Geass Australia, American civic gun culture has influenced Australia's due to timeline differences and aforementioned American refugees.

ix While Code Geass' 21st Century is earlier than OTL, I'll be working under the assumption technology is on par and better than OTL whereas social policy in places other than Australia are severely outdated.


	4. Turn 3: Mission

**Code Geass: Suzaku of Australia: **

**Turn 3: Mission**

_If I owned Code Geass, there would be scenes of C.C. screwing Lelouch. Clearly, I don't._

* * *

_Chofu Base, Tokyo, Japan - Present_

Dick cocked his homemade tranquilizer gun (which he dubbed the "Sydney Sleeper" and smuggled through customs on both sides of the Pacific), ignoring the pun that came across his mind. His mission was simple. Retrieve Mr Kururugi and smuggle him back to Picton for Saxton and those two odd old men on the highway that had crashed into his Jeep Grand Cherokee and owed him thousands of dollars. If he wasn't trying something so risky, he would have no reason to be currently hiding inside a dumpster, generally considered a very unprofessional behaviour otherwise.

Intricately paying intention to signs of movement, Dick finally made his move when he heard the footsteps of a soldier passing by (Despite Nunnally's reforms, Chofu was still a Britannian military airport base undergoing handover, one extremely slowly being returned to Japanese civilian control, due to reality known as bureaucracy). Dick knew those exasperated patrolling footsteps; those were the footsteps of a soldier doing his work in order to feed his unloved family, consisting of an overprotective man, his lovechild and an ingrate baby momma; he knew too well. Stashing away his sympathy, within the confines of the dumpster, Dick withdrew his tranquiliser smeared kukri bayonet. Popping out unexpectedly like a whack-a-mole, his nicked the poor fellow, who instantaneously fell unconscious. Dick thoughts glancing away momentarily, he realised it was wise for him to wear thick gloves.

Bending down to take the unfortunate bastard's keycard, Dick then made his way to the warehouse connected to the facility of his interests. Slashing the card, he pushed open the thick metal gates to commence the next part of his mission. Those three back at home were so desperate they were promising to give him 50 years' worth of ammunition as a reward for completing the task. Even if they didn't meet the promise, he knew that a certain jar of urine implanted in their memories would be a good reason enough.

* * *

_Chofu Base, Tokyo, Japan - A day earlier_

Though Suzaku knew it was a temporary measure that would cease once his preliminary hearings commenced, Suzaku couldn't help but feel glad for being imprisoned. He knew that feeling. That was the desire for atonement that he had held and still held since murdering his own father. Even though he knew death was no longer on the sentencing list due to prior negotiations between Ougi and the Black Knights, he was filled with gratitude at the experience of trying a bit of his atonement.

Despite all the joy he received from his wallowing in self-pity however, his quasi-joy was also balanced out by the fact that someone assassinated Nunnally. Noticing his selfishness, Suzaku shed a single tear that made its way to his chin (His emotional capacity to cry fully was all but destroyed the moment he stabbed Lelouch). The golden question was why anyone would assassinate Nunnally at all. Though she held the Imperial Crown of Britannia (her only link to the evils of the past), she was anything but a Social Darwinist of times past. This should've been all-the-more clearer with the fact that the Imperial Capital was going to be shifted somewhere else (he never had the chance to know because she announced it the day before she died) with Pendragon to be rebuilt as a purely civilian city.

To make it even more disturbing, the assassin even knew Suzaku's true identity. The circle that first knew about Zero Requiem was limited. Lloyd would be too busy doting on his experiments to care about world politics, Cecile would be too busy preventing Lloyd from messing up, Jeremiah was completely loyal to Lelouch and Schneizel was under the influence of the Geass since the Damocles world takeover. There was always the possibility that Schneizel could've had lapses in his Geass command's effectiveness, but he was not the type of person desperate enough to try to kill themselves in a plan to seize back the chessboard when they knew they had already lost, even if they would put their lives on the line otherwise.

Immediately, his mind focused onto the possibility of C.C. committing it; she had always been a mysterious woman; her motives were as transparent as a mirror (not at all, for mirrors are opaque). There were few historical happenings in history connected to green-haired immortals. Suzaku remained puzzled even for the few cases where there were greenheads in important positions; C.C. had an unexplained, particularly close relationship to Lelouch, who would've persuaded her not to kill Nunnally if she thought of doing so. Additionally, unless Lelouch treated the world as a game (which Suzaku knew he didn't, despite the former's many references to it as one) that could play even in his death, he would never even think of hurting Nunnally.

There was also the potential that it was Cornelia or Kanon, but they were more involved in the F.L.E.I.J.A incident than they were with the Zero Requiem. Beside, Cornelia had demonstrated herself to be, in general, against the killing of kin. That left only Kanon, who like Cornelia, had no involvement in the Requiem and therefore, did not know about Suzaku's true identity. Besides, Kanon wouldn't have killed Schneizel anyhow; the former was fond (to say the very least) of the latter, whereas the latter would've had no benefit at all to gain from asking the former to kill him.

Suzaku surrendered to the conclusion that he was overthinking it (maybe the Zero mask was making him more like Lelouch); maybe it was a meaningless random massacre.

"_Like Euphie's."_ Suzaku shuddered the best a restrained man could. He didn't want to be reminded of that. Lelouch did it and since Lelouch was Zero, he could've confused Euphemia's cursing as one of his doings and therefore compromise the legend of Zero in a wavering of emotions.

Back at square one, Suzaku realised that that Zero's identity being compromised was now irrelevant; it was broadcast to the whole world on television. He realised that he should've been concentrating on what to do now.

* * *

_Ellsworth Land, Antarctica - Present_

Compelled by Lelouch's Geass to 'not die', Shirley Fenette 'did not die'; that did not mean she did not stop living; she was basically, undead. The difference between her state of undeath and the average zombies was that she was neither a rotten corpse nor a creature with a taste for brains. What she was, was a one year old Emperor penguin chick with eyes that had a permanent red outline.

She found her current state to be both a curse and a blessing. When she had died, as per her Anglican upbringing (i), she expected either Heaven or Hell. What she had however, was entirely different. She had found herself in a world of metal, on a sandstone floor, which showed hints of Roman-Celtic design. Before her nude figure, she had felt the presence of her father (and all those who she had lost) emanating from what had seemed to be Jupiter above her. Though she had felt a strong desire to fly up (which she believed she had the ability to do so, despite never having done so ever before, dead or alive) and become one with that presence, she was compelled not to. Despite having flown up to the stars and touched the model of Jupiter before her, the orangette found that she could never become one with it, trapped between the desire to meet the collective unconscious and the compulsion to not die. After what had seemed like a million years of this Hell, she had noticed that below here were the Emperor, Suzaku, Lelouch and two women. She had then had begun her dive towards her beloved Lelouch, noticing that a prior-unnoticed chain of humans reaching up to "Jupiter was collapsing, but when she had reached the bottom, they were gone. It was then she had begun her transfer to the body of an Emperor Penguin; she was reborn as she had told Lelouch, though in a less-than-ideal way.

Being an Emperor Penguin had its perks; swimming club was basically half her day. However, the fact that she went into the form of a female Emperor Penguin gave her the problem of extremely eager males seeking to impregnate her; it was quite the irony when she reflected on the fact that in her human body, she was in love with a boy others were infatuated with.

Life as a penguin, to say the very least, was interesting, especially on a place with ground markings reminiscent of that symbol in Lelouch's left eye.

* * *

_Barrier High, Australia – Two days prior_

Dick was just driving along the hot-air ridden highway when a shitty-looking, Toyota Corolla had crashed head on with his Grand Cherokee, deploying the airbags and crushing the jar of urine he had placed on the left seat. He was not concerned about the fact his face was punched by pure air. The urine sample was going to be analysed as potential ammunition for his tranquiliser rifle – it was of greater significance. No pun intended, he felt as if Heaven or whatever freak entity controlled the cosmos was trying to make him take the piss.

Forcing open the door to confront the two bastards in the Corolla, he quickly started the ordinary tirade of a disgruntled outback driver, in the roasting heat, asking for some kind of assistance, compensation and a way to get to his intended destination.

From the mouth of the wrinkled passenger came out in response, "Sorry, no can do, I don't fix Britannian cars."

In response to the former man, a less older-looking stated, "Well, you've got to help this young lad here get to Picton somehow, Ben."

"Yeah, after I fix this Nip car, Tom" The shrew-looking man replied.

"That and some kind of compensation for that bloke who looks like he can kill you with a jar of piss and a rusty knife."

At that, Dick hypothesised that either 1) what that Tom fellow said was complete co-incidence or that 2), he had the ability to read minds. The latter was just as likely given all the freak occurrences in recent years.

"Talking about piss and rusty knifes, I've got both and unless you agree to take me to Picton and make a promise with my boss to compensate me for that brand new, uninsured car, you'll be taking much more than piss." At this, the two balls of wrinkled skin ("Dammit, ANOTHER pun!") raised their hands in surrender and agreed to Dick.

* * *

_Chofu Base, Tokyo, Japan - Present_

After shutting up the last guard patrolling the target's cell with a well-placed, non-lethal hit to the knee, Dick finally made contact.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Suzaku Kururugi."

In acknowledgement (and some surprise due to the accented Japanese, which despite the return of Japan, was still less commonplace than Eleven Britannian in official purposes, such as law enforcement), Suzaku perked up from his straitjacket kneel and saw a man with a grey shirt dressed in a sports vest, trousers, with a sniper rifle on his should, bayonet fixed, topped with an akubra. He did not know he was and he did not care, ridden with the most extreme kind of apathy, the kind which begged for death.

Dick knew those eyes. They were the unprofessional eyes of apathy and he would have left the bearer were it not for the mission. Pitying him, but at the same time disregarding his despair, Dick wielded the fixed prototype Australium-edge bayonet and flicked the power switch on the rifle's butt stock.

Suddenly, Suzaku's emotional masturbation was interrupted by the sounds of metal being cut. He saw that the stranger was cutting through the glass and metal that made the cell and witnessed him entering the opening.

"Stop it with your mind-wanking." – Suzaku noticed that the Britannian (ii) of the man had a distinct accent to it (ignoring his accurate statement), unlike that's of Lelouch's or his fellow Knights of the Rounds'.

"Yes, my Lord." Suzaku instinctively said to an authority.

"Nah man, it's "Yes Sir" in 'strayan English." – Dick chuckled – that was your vocabulary on Britannian English, with its romantic, pseudo-feudal notions of lordship and knighthood.

Turning off and unfixing the bayonet, Dick freed Suzaku from his bonds.

Clearing his throat, Dick stated very plainly, "Now, your first mission is to get the fuck out of here alive. Do it for Nunnally."

His emerald eyes glowing red in response, particularly to the last part, Suzaku acknowledged, with a "Yes, Sir!"

* * *

_Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Britannia – A day later_

"My Lord, Warrant Officer Suzaku Kururugi has gone missing!"

A four-lettered f-word popped up in Kanon Maldini's mind.

* * *

A/N

- (i) According to the funeral practices for her father, Shirley's an Anglican. I don't care if I'm wrong, Code Geass Wiki says so.

– (ii) In an ultra-nationalist country, even if it were **formerly** ultra-nationalist, it would be perfectly acceptable to change the name of a language, wouldn't it?


End file.
